Newfield Exploration Second Quarter Earnings Sneak Peek

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX) will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, July 24, 2012. Newfield Exploration acquires and explores natural gas and crude oil properties in the U.S. and abroad.

Newfield Exploration Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet

Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is for net income of 69 cents per share, a decline of 32.4% from the company’s actual earnings for the year-ago quarter. During the past three months, the average estimate has moved down from 71 cents. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate moved up. It has dropped from 77 cents during the last month. Analysts are projecting profit to rise by 32.9% compared to last year’s $2.67.

Past Earnings Performance: Last quarter, the company topped expectations by 15 cents, coming in at profit of 91 cents per share versus a mean estimate of net income of 76 cents per share. This followed two straight quarters of missing estimates.

A Look Back: In the first quarter, the company swung to a profit of $116 million (86 cents a share) from a loss of $17 million (13 cents) a year earlier, beating analyst estimates. Revenue rose 24.4% to $678 million from $545 million.

Stock Price Performance: From June 20, 2012 to July 19, 2012, the stock price rose $5.55 (20.5%), from $27.10 to $32.65. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between July 10, 2012 and July 19, 2012, when shares rose for eight straight days, increasing 15.8% (+$4.46) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between May 1, 2012 and May 18, 2012 when shares fell for 14 straight days, dropping 22.1% (-$7.99) over that span.

Wall St. Revenue Expectations: Analysts predict a rise of 7.7% in revenue from the year-earlier quarter to $668.8 million.

Key Stats:

With double-digit revenue growth the past four quarters, this earnings release is a chance to keep that positive trend going. The company has averaged year-over-year revenue growth of 32.8% over the last four quarters.

Analyst Ratings: There are 11 out of 20 analysts surveyed (55%) rating Newfield Exploration a buy.

Balance Sheet Analysis: The company’s current ratio of assets to liabilities came in at 0.93 last quarter. The current ratio is an indication of a firm’s liquidity and ability to meet creditor demands and generally, a ratio less than one could indicate a company may have difficulty meeting current obligations.